They pissed a golden opportunity up the wall by failing to release the Genesis before the 86.
The Australian car market was clearly screaming for an affordable RWD coupe. Frankly it still needs another one.

They pissed a golden opportunity up the wall by failing to release the Genesis before the 86.
The Australian car market was clearly screaming for an affordable RWD coupe. Frankly it still needs another one.

Have been telling mates that forever also haha, they had the chance so long ago to drop a car into AUS and it would of sold like hot cakes.. although Hyundai is still a very low brand here with the Excel not really making a large claim for it being a higher profile car other than the equivalent to a Gemini.

The Veloster is a really good seller here along with the i20/i30 series so when they do bring out the Coupe it should sell fast.. but when they do release it will be a different story =(

I dont think Nissan will do a Silvia imo, im not to sure what they are thinking for a next Australian release personally it seems like were getting pretty boring cars from them, Like the 370z is still available for sale really has me thinking what is nissan doing? The car has been out for close to 6 years now.. Buying a model of it now just seems stupid imo.. Its a great car but its barely changed..

the 370z had the price cut by 13K this year because the 86 (while slower and less features) was eating its market by the gobful. in the US the 370 is in the same price range as the 86 (but then again so are WRX, EVO X, etc)

the only thing theyve done with the 370 is the facelift which IMO looks a bit worse than the original (the fish-mouth look). Like mazda with the MX5 they havent really had to compete with anything except hot hatches (who cross shops a sports coupe with a FWD i dont know) so they can set a high price and sell all they get into the country without much hassle. the 86 has made them all jump up and realise that they now have to compete on price.

The thing that has always prevented me from buying the 370 is the fact it is a 2 seater.
Not because i plan on having passengers, but 2 seaters have a wall behind the 2 seats which means:
1) You cannot lean back for a nap.
2) you are VERY limited with how far back you can adjust your seat.
3) if you have something that you do not want to throw in the boot (bag, small box etc) it has to go in your passengers lap.

2 seaters are just so bloody impractical. Nissan also pissed an opportunity up the wall by choosing the 370z over the V36 Skyline Coupe.

Imagine how popular the Skyline would have been if it was Australian delivered at a time when a RWD Coupe for under $80k was practically unheard of?

My 86 feels infinitely better than my s13 handling wise (with the fcking yaris wheels) which is a no brainer, just have to settle with the shortage in power until my warranty finishes, but that also gives me time to save haha. Would also like to slap some works xd 9s, but alas weddings and shit...

One gripe is that 1st and 2nd feel clunky due to the syncromesh, but you can get a parent shifter to sort that shit out!!

One car I've been scoping is the fj cruiser. No other reason than it has space in the back to transport fish tanks and has an ugly but interesting look. If only it came in diesel.

I do however think the next few years will be an interesting stand point for the Japanese/Australian market..
Does anybody know the official lineup of cars we will get from Ford/GM USA? Id have thought we would get some of there Coupes along the line aswell..

Id say Toyota/Nissan/Mazda will all feel a very strong grip on them once Australians flock to these new American cars, which hopefully pushes them internationally to stop raping us with there lowest common car.

Like the Camry is my most hated car ever based on the fact what we get is junk, America gets it thats fine.. but Australians get smashed with practically a 2012 equivalent.

I really wish Nissan would just make an S16. Just keep it simple and basically make it the same as the previous ones. 2L turbo 1200ish kgs, RWD. Normal port injection rather than direct injection even. Nothing too fancy. Some modernising of the S15 basically. Even if it had an Sr20 in it, i'd be happy haha. They could make an SR20VET from stock and that'd be sweet.

My only concern is that it'd be FWD or not have a clutch, or be really rounded and ugly like most new cars rather than sleek. But the 86 has the right looks and layout, it's just the engine that's wrong in that car. Lower the compression and boost it and it'd be fine. Surely that'd be much easier for them to do from factory than it is as an aftermarket thing.

I don't mind those and they sound like they could be fun with the tuneable engine and the sweet looks and better suspension than the older ones. It looks like they're 1600kgs though. I'm big on light weight cars. I would rather have the same power to weight ratio in a smaller car generally because it feels much more exciting and fun to drive. The 86 nailed that by being the same as an s chassis for weight and all that.

283HP @ the wheels and 387ftlbs of torque with a cobb access port tune, intake, catback exhaust and FMIC.

thats before adding a bigger turbo, bigger injectors, E85, fuel pump, turbo back exhaust and all the other shit.

250HP in a 180sx is 5.2KG per HP, and the above is 5.6KG. its not a big gap at all, and when you consider the trade off (25yrs worth of newer design and technology, 25 years less fatigue on the chassis and components) its probably worth it

That does sound good. Still though, you can get more than 283hp atw from an sr20 with response and 400kgs less weight.

And it's 80kgs more for the V8, which you could then supercharge and probably make the extra weight more worthwhile by having a straight-line monster.
Still I'd prefer a lighter car, so I don't know which of those 2 I'd choose.

If those Mustangs were 200kgs lighter, I'd be sold for sure. It'd be like an r34 and that is starting to seem light compared to cars these days. But still, I'd prefer something in the S chassis weight/power potential/looks ideally.

I'd take the mustang, as much as the s-chassis cars are great, once you drive something newer and see the difference 20 years of progress makes... drove a rental camaro from vegas to san fran last year and loved every minute, including a nice run around lake tahoe with some twisty 55mph limit roads. could never do it in a s-chassis car, took my s14 to nelson bay a few months ago and after the first hour wanted to get out. the tyre noise, clutch after a few hours of stupid roadworks and holiday traffic, the unsupportive factory seats, heat soak+aircon resulting in stupid turbo lag, etc...